Hennersburg
The northeasternmost province, Hennersburg rests on the man-made Gelagos Archipelago, which reaches into the Albadian Ocean. Nobody remembers why the Federation made the archipelago, best guess is that they just took all the garbage left over from terraforming and decided to add on to Naruve with it and build over top of it. Hennersburg is one of the largest districts because of this practice, covering not only a significant chunk of natural land but also the whole of the artificial land as well. The 'burgs main purpose revolved around naval supply, both terrestrial and stellar. Hundreds of thousands of square miles filled with identical buildings all serving similar purposes, containing massive amounts of supplies to be stored and shipped, almost impossible to navigate on the ground without a reliable GPS system. The entire coastline housed drydocks to build any ship a person could want. Most of this is rubble now, destroyed by shore bombardments, missile barrages, and kamikaze runs seeking to cripple the district's defensive measures. During the Armageddon Wars, Hennersburg suffered from constant attack due to its vast stockpiles of goods and commodities. Rebels, pirates, raiders, desperate people, all of them wanted to get their hands into the 'burgs warehouses. Millions of tons of foodstuffs, construction materials, ammunition, machine lubricants, everything an army would need to continue the war effort. To control Hennersburg meant to control the singlest largest supply depot in the system. An insightful commander could keep a war effort going for centuries with all that stuff without needing any resupply from home. The natives were well aware of this fact, and used it themselves to great effect. Even though their forces were made up of merchant marines and civilian sailors and police forces with very few actual military personnel, they had enough equipment and manpower to keep the Rebels out for a very long time. The defenders earned a reputation as fierce, clever, and stubborn above and beyond the call of duty, and are remembered in legends for their tenacity and defiance in the face of subjugation and annihilation. Under the direction of the handful of Federation military personnel working with civilian police forces, Hennersburg was converted from docks to fortress quickly. Shore defenses could be linked together with various kinds of digital intelligences, which could coordinate automated machines much faster than mortal minds and hands. Ships of all sorts could be refit to serve new purposes- tankers could be rigged with simple programs, filled with explosives, and sent straight into an enemy battleship. Yachts could have armor plating slapped onto their hulls and guns attached to their decks to create destroyer-hunters. Marine teams used hoversols to board enemy ships to sabotage or commandeer them. Cruise liners could be turned into makeshift battleships. Were it not for the loss of Serisia's shipyards to the Rebels, the 'burgs defenders would have easily been able to turn their defenses to orbital matters, and the course of the Wars may have taken a different path. But this was not to be, and with constant assault the defenders slowly began to lose ground. While still possessed of plenty of supplies, manpower was running low, and this would force them to make the decision that would ultimately spell their doom. Without reinforcement, with their defenses slowly buckling, the defenders became desperate and contacted a fleet of Illithid mercenaries. Shady deals yielded promises of critical support, but the defenders would be betrayed in the end. When the Illithid came, they didn't come to honor their promises. They waited until the last moment, when the last significant 'burgian defenses fell, to make their move. The squidfolk brought down a terrible storm of biological plague-missiles, which caused the nearby oceans to become a gooey mess that remains today. While the invaders struggled to bring their forces ashore to finish off the defenders, the Illithid brought their armies down from orbit and began rounding up everyone. They feasted for weeks on brains, and when they had finished gorging themselves, simply left, taking all their troops, pets, and equipment with them. Not even a vanguard was left behind to secure any goods that they may have been able to use. When their fleets left, all that remained of Hennersburg was silence; even carrion beasts avoided the desolation. It was centuries before anyone would make it to the 'burgs borders or shores to figure out what all had happened. What they found was a vast graveyard of oceanic vessels unlike any other. For nearly six miles extending outwards from the shorelines and docks, countless thousands of ruined and half-sunken ships rest in a mire made of thick algae, albino sargassum, coagulated organic lubricants, and general slimy muck. In many areas this foul, reeking mixture- reminiscent of dead fish and methane- is solid enough to be walked across, though the surface is extremely slick and the stench supposedly does not wash out. The interior isn't much better: time and the elements have taken a harsh toll on Hennersburg's already damaged state, and curious explorers often regret visiting. It's believed that supplies may still be found in stasis crates within the few buildings that are not destroyed, but navigation is a nightmare and lots of nasty beasties- like Carrion Crawlers and Otyughs- have made the place their home. But the harsh journey promises great rewards, so people keep visiting. Some succeed, most get added to the bone piles. Points of Interest: Bast's Bounty The Feeding Grounds Yusephka's Landing Historical Excerpts: Last Will and Testament of Michael Dietrich Back to Telo-Haljr Back to Main Page